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Expect Dozier at second, Florimon at short in spring

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FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said on Saturday that there are no favorites in the middle-infield competition that's set to include Jamey Carroll, Brian Dozier, Pedro Florimon and Eduardo Escobar.

Gardenhire, though, said Dozier, who played shortstop last season, will almost exclusively play at second base this spring while Florimon will stick at short.

Carroll and Escobar will see time at shortstop, second base and third base this spring, but are also in the mix for starting spots at both second and short with Trevor Plouffe a lock at third.

"I think we've got guys who can play," Gardenhire said. "We've got some good athletes and we'll figure that out. There are probably going to be a couple of combos that haven't seen a lot of each other. I'll do that as much as I can this spring. There are new people at new positions and that's one of the things we're going to have to work out. See how it all looks and see what works the best. But we've got time. One thing we've got is a lot of time here in Spring Training to get this done."

Gardenhire said he'll monitor the infielders during practice, but said he'll get a better read once Grapefruit League play begins on Feb. 23.

"That's the exciting part of it," Gardenhire said. "We get to go through a Spring Training, we get to the games, start watching them in game situations and mix and matching and seeing how they do. Hopefully, we'll put together a pretty good group out there."